Doppelgängers, ultra-long-distance teleportation, precognition, no fear of Seastone or the sea, and so on.
With all these complex and powerful abilities protecting him, even Kuzan himself was not sure whether he could kill Ren even if he hunted him around the clock.
Or whether, under that pressure, Ren would improve instead and end up killing him in return...
Complicated thoughts flowed through his mind. At some point, Kuzan realized that his own perception had gradually begun to change.
From "Ren is extremely troublesome" to "Ren is almost impossible to kill."
If it progressed one step further, it was very likely to become "Ren is almost impossible to defeat."
To make an Admiral, someone whose military might stood at the summit of the sea, develop such thoughts required more than actual examples.
It required more than a shock to the heart.
There was also interference from an outside force!
Countless sums of money shattered at this moment, and the power of the Limited Wishing Machine was consumed at a frantic rate.
High above the skies of Marineford, the will overlooking everything gazed down at the results of its work.
This battlefield had undergone tremendous changes because of his interference. If the Admirals did not go all out, the scales of victory would tilt toward the Whitebeard Pirates.
Nearly all of the Marines' artillery had been destroyed by that Daytime: Scorching Light, leaving them under one-sided fire from the Whitebeard Pirates.
Oz Jr., a descendant of the Continent Puller, had launched a charge toward the execution platform on the bay shore.
The Giant Vice Admirals tried to intercept him, but three or four Vice Admirals were taken down one after another, forcing Vice Admirals from other areas to join the battlefield as well.
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates attacked madly, and the rank-and-file forces on both sides were being worn down at an astonishing speed.
Phoenix Marco and Kizaru were locked in combat with one another. Occasionally, Kizaru would free a hand to support the battlefield below.
Jozu had his eyes fixed on Mihawk. As long as this world's greatest swordsman made a move, Jozu would use his Devil Fruit ability to block him.
Although his massive build made him look as though he should be slow and clumsy, Jozu was actually extremely fast.
Hancock had yet to make a move. Because of a certain ring, her presence was currently extremely low.
She remained on the battlefield only because she wanted to see the result of that bet.
Akainu was still guarding the execution platform. Kuzan originally intended to join the battlefield, but Sengoku restrained that impulse.
Whitebeard likewise had not acted. He simply watched the war continue with cold eyes.
Clearly, what followed would be a long war of attrition.
In the next instant, the will observing the situation was dragged back to Infinite Hell within the great prison of Impel Down.
"Not bad, I suppose."
Ren opened his crimson eyes, then slowly rose to his feet and walked along the path carved open by the great pirates, heading toward the main battlefield above where the rumbling had not ceased.
The Marineford War still needed some time to ferment.
Or rather, it had temporarily reached a pause.
Only when the Red-Haired Pirates entered the stage, and when the war reached its white-hot phase, would there be an opportunity to return.
The next thing he had to do was shift the battlefront.
When the snipe and clam fought, it was time for him, the fisherman, to reap the benefits!
Inside the great prison of Impel Down, the death battle in which neither side was willing to give up had continued for a very long time.
Level 4, Blazing Hell, had completely collapsed. The enormous iron cauldron filled with boiling blood pools and seas of fire had been buried beneath shattered stone.
Level 3 had also collapsed by more than half. If the construction of this great prison had not taken so many factors into account, this great prison that had stood for over a century might already have crumbled.
And the source of all this was the desperate battle between the pirates and Impel Down's side!
Magellan did not know how the criminals imprisoned in Infinite Hell had escaped, but he knew one thing clearly: he absolutely could not allow these criminals to leave.
As Deputy Warden, Hannyabal believed they needed the Marines on the warships outside to come in as reinforcements.
But Magellan refused. He understood the strength of those people aboard the external warships, and he also understood the strength of these great criminals.
Rather than rely on support forces that would barely make a difference, Magellan would rather have the Marine warships remain still and lock down the waters outside Impel Down.
Impel Down was an isolated island built in the Calm Belt, surrounded by countless enormous Sea Kings.
They were hostile toward all outsiders, and the most suitable means of escape was the Marine warships whose hulls were embedded with Seastone.
That was the choice of the warden.
"Sorry."
Magellan was covered in blood, mixed with dark-red venom that dripped onto the ground.
He was somewhat unsteady on his feet, but he still stood there as he looked toward the colleague fighting beside him.
"Great, you feel guilty toward me. If I use that to make you step down, then I can become Warden..."
Hannyabal forced out an ugly smile. "...Ah, that slipped out."
"Hahaha, you really are... the same as ever."
Magellan laughed as well. Their laughter sounded so sharp and lonely within Hunger Hell.
No one joined them, because the companions who had fought alongside them had long since fallen on the collapsed fourth level.
The rubble had buried them, along with the stories they had upheld.
Those strongest Jailer Beasts had died not far away in the stairwell.
When they raised their heads, what stood before them were great criminals watching the two of them coldly from scattered positions.
Patrick Redfield, Byrnndi World, Douglas Bullet, Vasco Shot, Catarina Devon, Jinbe, Avalo Pizarro, Sanjuan Wolf—not one of these great pirates imprisoned in Infinite Hell had died.
Corresponding to that, the other pirate prisoners from the other levels, who had been driven forward as expendable pawns, were nearly all dead.
The remaining prisoners were scattered in terror behind the great pirates, no longer daring to approach the frontal battlefield.
And that frontal battlefield was filled with the corpses of prisoners poisoned to death, as well as some Impel Down personnel.
"Devil Fruit Awakening... A poison of this level means that ordinary people die the moment they touch it."
Jinbe muttered in a low voice, his expression growing increasingly grave.
After being freed by an unknown person, he had reached an agreement with the great pirates imprisoned on the same sixth level.
No matter what thoughts or goals each of them had, escaping first was the most important thing.
And their greatest obstacle was naturally Impel Down's power.
Not only the Jailer Beasts, beasts, and soldiers, but also Magellan, whom no one could ignore.
Magellan was an Awakened Paramecia ability user, a Venom-Venom Fruit poison man.
This was one of the pledges of allegiance handed over by the former Impel Down officer known as Shiryu of the Rain.
After that, Catarina was the first to propose using the prisoners from the other levels, and everyone unanimously agreed.
The prisoners in Infinite Hell were all ruthless figures to begin with. Some of them were so notorious that their names were practically known across all four seas.
With a shared interest—escaping prison—the other prisoners naturally followed them into battle.
Of course, none of these people from Infinite Hell were good people. They seemed to be leading the charge, but in reality, they were using those prisoners as consumables.
In fact, they had succeeded, but not completely.
The guards were defeated, and three of the Jailer Beasts had been dealt with by the great pirates.
Yet they were still blocked on Level 3, unable to reach Level 2 and make a smooth escape.
Because Magellan was simply too strong.
The toxicity of his scarlet venom was beyond imagination. Once the prisoners were contaminated by it, they would almost certainly die slowly in agony.
That incomparably cruel sight caused the prisoners to begin rebelling after more than half of them had been killed or wounded.
They did not dare attack Magellan, so they could only choose to flee.
But how could the leading great pirates possibly allow that? They directly acted as an enforcement squad and forced the prisoners forward to consume Magellan's strength.
Magellan, who understood the principle of defeating them in separate groups, likewise refused to be worn down. Even if he could easily wipe out large numbers of enemies over a wide area,
there was no way for him to hold back all the great pirates from Infinite Hell while exhausted.
However, at that time, a group of pirates with considerable strength had appeared among the prisoners, and Jinbe knew very clearly that they had come from outside.
Because he remembered the man leading them!
In theory, that man was currently one of the Warlords of the Sea, yet he had earlier stepped in and defeated the fourth Jailer Beast.
At that moment, he seemed to want to do something and directly attacked Magellan.
However, the other party appeared somewhat rash and had not fully understood Magellan's strength.
The final result was that he had been hammered down to the lower levels, his life or death unknown.
Of course, thanks to that fellow, the great pirates of Infinite Hell regained control of the situation.
They forced the prisoners into desperate attacks. When the prisoners' numbers had fallen to only thirty percent of the original, the situation had become what it was now.
The prisoners refused to obey orders. They would rather be killed than go forward as consumables.
But likewise, Impel Down's forces had been almost completely annihilated, leaving only Magellan and a Deputy Warden who had only recently climbed back to his feet.
"Surrender. There's no meaning in continuing a death battle like this. You are destined to fail."
Byrnndi World sneered and said, "How much money do you make in a month? Why fight us to the death?
Why not admit the inevitable failure and let us leave? Then you'll still have hope of rebuilding this place.
Otherwise, after this is over, I'm going to blow this place to pieces!"
Magellan's face turned cold. Before he could say anything, he heard Hannyabal burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, what are you talking about, you idiot!"
Hannyabal, who was usually unreliable and spent every day thinking about how to become Warden, gripped his double-bladed weapon tightly. The flames burning on the blade were as hot and surging as the fury in his eyes.
"What destined failure? What no meaning? You scum of the world, stop dressing up your words!
You're nothing more than infamous pirates and rebels.
As long as you're still out on the sea, ordinary people will spend their nights unable to sleep, terrified that they might lose the people they love.
So, to let the weak live in peace, I will throw vicious criminals into prison.
This place is the great fortress of hell. If this place is destroyed, people will fall into endless panic.
So when I say I won't let you pass—
I won't let you pass!"
"That's right, Hannyabal!"
Scarlet deadly poison once again emerged from Magellan's body, forming an exterior like a skeletal giant.
"Even if we die here, we will not let you leave so easily!"
Jinbe silently watched the two of them roar. He could feel their wills.
Even though he did not like humans, he could not deny that among them, there did exist individuals worthy of admiration.
Magellan still had strength, but what strength did that man holding the double-bladed weapon have?
He was nothing more than a man who had been knocked unconscious and luckily avoided the previous brutal fighting, only to wake up when the situation had already become like this.
And yet... the other man had still made this choice!
However, compared with the admiration in Jinbe's heart, the other great pirates had no such thoughts at all.
(End of Chapter)